Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Sketch VS Pattern Lab

Compare Sketch VS Pattern Lab and see what are their differences

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Sketch logo Sketch

Professional digital design for Mac.

Pattern Lab logo Pattern Lab

Create atomic design systems with Pattern Lab.
  • Sketch Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-20
  • Pattern Lab Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-01-20

Sketch

Website
sketch.com
Release Date
2010 January
Startup details
Country
The Netherlands
State
Zuid-Holland
City
The Hague
Founder(s)
Emanuel Sá
Employees
10 - 19

Sketch features and specs

  • User Interface
    Sketch has a clean and intuitive user interface that is easy to navigate, which makes it accessible for both beginners and advanced users.
  • Design Tools
    Provides robust vector editing tools and a wide range of design features, making it versatile for various kinds of digital design work.
  • Plugins Ecosystem
    Offers a rich ecosystem of plugins that enhance functionality and can be customized to fit specific needs.
  • Community and Resources
    There is a strong community of designers using Sketch, which means plenty of tutorials, resources, and shared assets are available.
  • Symbol and Reuse
    Supports symbols and reusable design components, making it efficient for maintaining consistency across a design project.
  • Performance
    Generally performs well even with complex design files, as it is optimized for the Mac environment.

Possible disadvantages of Sketch

  • Mac-only
    Sketch is available only on macOS, limiting its accessibility to users on other platforms such as Windows or Linux.
  • Learning Curve
    While the interface is intuitive, mastering Sketch's full suite of tools and features can still take some time.
  • Pricing
    Sketch requires a subscription or one-time payment, which can be a consideration for freelancers or small teams with limited budgets.
  • Collaboration
    Real-time collaboration features are not as advanced as some of its competitors, which can pose challenges for team-based projects.
  • Compatibility
    Because it uses its own file format, working cross-platform or with non-Sketch users can present challenges, requiring conversion tools or additional steps.
  • Limited Prototyping
    While it offers some prototyping functionality, it is not as robust as tools specifically designed for prototyping such as InVision or Figma.

Pattern Lab features and specs

  • Component-Driven Development
    Pattern Lab encourages a modular approach by allowing developers to create reusable components, which promotes consistency and efficiency in developing user interfaces.
  • Atomic Design
    It is built on the Atomic Design methodology, which helps in designing systems by breaking down interfaces into basic building blocks, leading to more manageable and scalable design systems.
  • Live Style Guide
    Pattern Lab generates a live style guide that updates in real time as components are developed, making it easy for designers and developers to stay in sync with the design system.
  • Platform Agnostic
    Pattern Lab can be integrated with various development stacks and workflows, making it flexible and adaptable to a wide range of projects.
  • Enhanced Collaboration
    By facilitating a shared language and set of tools between designers and developers, Pattern Lab improves collaboration and reduces communication barriers.

Possible disadvantages of Pattern Lab

  • Steep Learning Curve
    For teams that are new to the Atomic Design methodology or to Pattern Lab itself, there can be a significant learning curve required to get up to speed.
  • Initial Setup Complexity
    Setting up a project can be complex, especially for beginners, as it requires understanding both the tool and the underlying design principles thoroughly.
  • Limited Customization
    Although flexible, Pattern Lab does have limitations in terms of customizations, which may not be suitable for very specific or unique project requirements.
  • Performance Overheads
    As projects grow in size and complexity, managing and compiling a large number of components can lead to performance overheads, affecting build times.
  • Maintenance Burden
    Keeping the Pattern Lab and its components in sync with the ongoing changes in projects can become a maintenance burden over time, requiring dedicated resources.

Sketch videos

Sketch Review | Vikram | Tamil Talkies

More videos:

  • Review - Sketch vs. Photoshop: The 5 Things Sketch Can Do That Photoshop Can’t
  • Review - sketch review by prashanth

Pattern Lab videos

Introduction to Pattern Lab

More videos:

  • Review - Using Pattern Lab to Design More Efficiently

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Sketch and Pattern Lab)
Design Tools
96 96%
4% 4
Graphic Design Software
100 100%
0% 0
Developer Tools
0 0%
100% 100
Image Editing
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Sketch and Pattern Lab

Sketch Reviews

Top 6 Figma Alternatives: Prototyping and UI/UX Tools
Sketch offers 2 premium plans, Standard and Business, which start at $9 and $20 per month per editor, respectively, and include a 30-day free trial. The software is exclusively accessible for macOS, and there is no free tier, although students and educators can obtain it for free through the Sketch for Education initiative.
Source: fronty.com
10 Best Figma Alternatives in 2024
Sketch is another best Figmawith alternative and it is a professional digital design tool used for creating user interfaces and user experience designs. It is popular among designers for its simple interface, powerful features, and focus on vector-based design.
Top 10 Figma Alternatives for Your Design Needs | ClickUp
Sketch started out as a vector editing platform, and it still boasts options like shorthand math operators and effortless editing for multiple borders, making the design process easier.
Source: clickup.com
9 Best InVision Alternatives to Switch to in 2024
Available as a native Mac app, using design tools on Sketch is only available to iOS users. However, non-iOS fans can browse, inspect, and collaborate on designs using the web app.
Source: designmodo.com
Figma Alternatives: 12 Prototyping and Design Tools in 2024
Sketch is a popular design tool used by many freelancers due to its wide range of tools at your disposal. You can create artboards, animated interactions, and prototypes and preview them through the Sketch app on desktop and iOS devices.

Pattern Lab Reviews

We have no reviews of Pattern Lab yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Pattern Lab should be more popular than Sketch. It has been mentiond 6 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Sketch mentions (3)

  • How to make a Portfolio!?
    Start by building the PDF version, as that's easier. I use Sketch (sketch.com) for designing layout. Source: over 2 years ago
  • TurboPad Vector Illustration
    This TG-16 controller was originally drawn in Fireworks CS4 waaaaaay back in the day, but I re-drew it by hand using simple shapes and effects in Sketch and Figma. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Starting off as a UI/UX Designer.
    Every designer has to choose their preferred design tool where they can implement their prototypes.Try Figma, Sketchand Adobe XD. These are the main tools, try each and find your favorite, as for me I love Figma(Very good in collaboration). - Source: dev.to / over 3 years ago

Pattern Lab mentions (6)

  • Unlocking the frontend – a call for standardizing component APIs pt.2
    While this helped ease integration work, in parallel to that we also started exploring more systematic approaches on the frontend side itself. With the advent of Brad Frost Atomic Design, and tools like Pattern Lab, we started using a more component-centric approach. This included colocating all styling (CSS), behavior (JavaScript) and semantic structure (HTML) for a component, and way better encapsulation as a... - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • Atomic Design: A Methodology for Building Design Systems
    In order to apply this methodology in your work, you can use a tool called Pattern Lab, created by Brad Frost and Dave Olsen. Pattern Lab is a tool to create atomic design systems. - Source: dev.to / almost 2 years ago
  • Integrating Accessibility In The Web Development Process
    Something that would really help to work with tested components and stay consistent with the code and guarantee code quality would be a component library created with Storybook or Pattern Lab, for example. Developers who have a high level of knowledge of how to write accessible code can create components and test them before implementing them. - Source: dev.to / almost 3 years ago
  • How do you make the styling of the site flexible to fast change, but not tedious to actually go in and change every single detail?
    You can read more about Atomic Design Systems and how it scales. I've used Patternlab and I find it awesome. Source: over 3 years ago
  • fractal.build as an atomic design tool
    Fractal seemed easier, at least to me, to understand and maintain, than PatternLab, which I failed to install due a bug in the current installer (and when I managed to install the grunt version, I was already told that there is fractal as a possible alternative). - Source: dev.to / over 3 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Sketch and Pattern Lab, you can also consider the following products

Figma - Team-based interface design, Figma lets you collaborate on designs in real time.

Storybook - Storybook is an open source tool for developing UI components in isolation for React, Vue, and Angular. It makes building stunning UIs organized and efficient.

Inkscape - Inkscape is a free, open source professional vector graphics editor for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.

Swanky Docs - A simple, flexible and powerful ecosystem for creating beautiful documentation.

Affinity Designer - Professional creative software, exclusively for Mac.

Backlight - Backlight is a unique collaborative platform to build Design Systems code-side.📐 Design tokens🧩 Component code and stories📖 Documentation site📦 Managed release to npmEverything in one place, in a true collaborative workspace.Try 👉 backlight.dev